Reforming America: Assassinations, Random Acts of Violence and Other Things That Donít Help the Cause

The shooting in Arizona of a U.S. Congresswoman and numerous others others and the events that have followed illustrate clearly why things like public political assassinations donít help to bring positive change for the people. In all likelihood, this event will spawn more laws that curtail the rights of Americans. The lone nut that tried to kill a politician for some as of yet undetermined reason also ended up killing a child and five other innocent people. Anything he might have been trying to accomplish with his actions has been permanently lost in the lunacy of his methods. He will forever be marginalized along with any beliefs he espoused.

One thing I will not do with this article is give the lone nut the victory of having his name once more put into the public arena. He should be nameless and faceless as repeatedly naming him in the media is only giving him the recognition he likely wanted as a result of his actions. I will continue to refer to him as a nut because his actions and indiscriminate use of violence against women and children is not acceptable in any fight and is a clear sign that he was not all there mentally speaking. Revolution is about change not killing innocents to promote your agenda. Crazy people murder women and children for no good reason, revolutionaries and patriots do not.

Indiscriminate violence is not how real change occurs. When and if violence is used it should be carefully considered and never be taken lightly. When you start down the path of violence you set in motion events that can quickly go out of control. Violence is best reserved as a last resort to bring change and is usually the least effective for bringing major positive change over the long term. When violence is necessary it should be limited to targets that are either strategic or pose a direct threat to the people. Killing innocents is the worst thing any revolutionary can do for their cause.

Like violence in general, assassinations should be a method of last resort to actually stop an impending direct threat to the health and safety of the people. If Hitler had been assassinated in 1943 to stop the killing of European Jews it would not have stopped the concentration camps and would likely have made him a martyr for the cause of the Third Reich. It is highly probable that if Hitler had been assassinated after the "final solution" was put into motion even more Jews would have died because his followers would have been that much more intent on making his vision into a reality.

Killing politicians in America will not change the political process or help the American people. The politicians are little more than figureheads for the wealthy. They serve as the buffer between the working people and the people who hold the real power in our nation. They are infinitely replaceable bodies that in the mind of the powerful are ultimately expendable. The taking of a politicianís life as a statement will not bring desired change. Assassination has the same downside as terrorism. It unites the opposition against the perpetrators and lends to their portrayal in the media as a group of cold-hearted monsters with no regard for human life.

If change is the desired goal, unity must be achieved before major action is taken. The smart revolutionary brings people together first and motivates them to act in their own interests. Removing power from the hands of the powerful is not just simply removing the people from their positions of power. You have to change the dynamic of the power structure at its core. If you want to stop the abuses by the powerful of the working class you have to strip the powerful of their wealth. Their wealth is their power. If you remove their wealth then you remove their influence. If you want to strike fear into the hearts of those who abuse power, strip a few of their own of wealth in a public way leaving them penniless making it clear to all that they are being punished for their abuses of others. Death is far less of a concern to them than poverty.

A revolution is needed in America to bring some balance to the power structure between the workers and the wealthy but it does not need to be an indiscriminately violent revolution. The greatest strength the working class has is their numbers. Working class people are the vast majority of Americans. We hold entirely in our hands our nationís ability to function. We can bring the nation to a grinding halt if we can only unite in our purpose to bring change. We can simply refuse to work en masse and force the powerful to address our needs. The key is unity, not dramatic acts of violence. If we remain a nation divided we will continue to be nothing more than surplus labor and cannon fodder for the wealthy. We donít need to kill innocents to bring change. We need to unite and demand change in one voice so loud that it cannot be ignored.

Do you sit and yell at the TV when politicians come on? Do you shake your head sadly whenever you see a homeless veteran? Is that all you tend to do?

It's time to put up or shut up America. We all love to talk about how we could do things better or how we would do it if we were in charge. Well, it's time to put your money where your mouth is. If you can think of it, you can write it down. If you can write it down, you can type it. If you can type it, you can e-mail it and if you can e-mail it, you can send it here.

We at Reform America are committed to giving voice to anyone who wants to put their ideas out there to make our nation a better place. As the readership grows, we are able to take those views to a wider and wider audience. Grassroots campaigns begin with voices speaking out. You have opinions. Voice them. We aren't about conservative or liberal. We aren't about pro-this or anti-that. We're about Americans and the First Amendment. Reform America is about politics by, for and of the people. You are the people. You only need to speak up. America is listening. Send your article to: stories@reform-america.net

For several years now we have listened to some within the business community tell us that America can't compete on a global scale unless they send our jobs overseas where they can be done cheaper. The question becomes, if we don't have good paying jobs here, how can we sustain our own economy? We want to hear from you. Have you lost your job? Have you been forced into a lower wage job due to outsourcing? Has outsourcing been a success for you? Did you end up in a better job?

Tell us your story so we can make sure the politicians see how outsourcing really impacts the workers who are backbone of America. Send your story to stories@reform-america.net